Assistance program
Federal Disaster Assistance to Individuals and Households in Presidential Declared Disaster Areas
$16.9 Billion committed in FY2018–FY2026
- Agency
- Federal Emergency Management Agency, Homeland Security, Department of
- Assistance
- Project Grants;Direct Payments for Specified Use
- CFDA number
- 97.048
- What it does
- To provide financial assistance, and if necessary, direct services to individuals and households affected as a direct result of a Presidentially-declared major disaster or emergency, who have uninsured or underinsured, necessary expenses and serious needs and are unable to meet such expenses or needs through other means. This program supports disaster recovery by providing the financial means or direct services to disaster survivors for Housing Assistance and Other Needs Assistance administered by FEMA. Performance metrics for this program are established in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, as amended by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, to include: • Goal of 90% applicants satisfied with the simplicity of the Individuals and Households Program • Goal of an average of less than seven days for the timeliness of providing Individuals and Households Program awards, excluding Critical Needs Assistance and Clean and Sanitize Assistance • Goal of 68% applicants confident in FEMA Individuals and Households Assistance • Goal of 70% applicants satisfied with FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program application process Data gathering methodology for measuring performance and results is conducted through quarterly surveys with disaster survivors.
- Who benefits
- Restricted to presidentially-declared disasters or emergencies which designate Individual Assistance, such as an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, wildfire, or flood, etc. Program activates only after issuance of a presidential declaration. Housing Assistance, either Financial or Direct, may be provided for the following: (1) Temporary Housing, (2) Home Repair, (3) Home Replacement and (4) Permanent Housing Construction. Assistance not used for the specified purpose will be required to be returned. Other Needs Assistance may be provided for: (1) Medical and Dental, (2) Child Care, (3) Funeral, (4) Personal Property, (5) Transportation, (6) Group Flood Insurance Policy, and 7) Assistance for Miscellaneous Items.
- Who applies
- Individuals and households, in areas declared a major disaster or emergency by the President that include Individual Assistance, who have necessary expenses and serious needs they are unable to meet through insurance or other means, are eligible to apply for this program. All needs must be caused by the disaster. Basic conditions of eligibility include: the individual or a member of the household must be a citizen of the United States, a non-citizen national, or a qualified alien; FEMA must be able to verify the applicant’s identity; the applicant’s insurance, or other forms of disaster assistance received cannot meet their disaster-caused needs; and the applicant’s necessary expenses and serious needs are directly caused by the major disaster or emergency. If the applicant meets the basic conditions of eligibility, FEMA may provide Housing Assistance when the disaster has caused damage that affects the habitability of the applicant’s home. Some types of Housing Assistance are available to both pre-disaster homeowners and renters, such as Rental Assistance and Direct Temporary Housing Assistance, while other types are only available to pre-disaster homeowners, such as Home Repair Assistance and Permanent Housing Construction. FEMA may provide Other Needs Assistance to applicants who have necessary expenses and serious needs they are unable to meet through insurance or other means. Each type of Other Needs Assistance has additional eligibility requirements, which may include verifiable documentation of the disaster-caused expense. FEMA collaborates with the Small Business Administration to determine eligibility for Personal Property, Transportation, and a Group Flood Insurance Policy. Housing Assistance: 1) Temporary Housing Assistance (financial) – proof of primary residence, proof of occupancy, disaster-caused displacement, and/or paid receipts for Rent or Lodging Expenses; 2) Temporary Housing Assistance (direct) – Authorized on a disaster-by-disaster basis when applicants are unable to make use of financial assistance to secure temporary housingproof of primary residence, proof of occupancy, disaster-caused displacement; 3) Repair – primary residence, proof of occupancy and ownership, disaster caused home damage; 3) Replacement – primary residence, proof of occupancy and ownership, home destroyed by the disaster; 4) Permanent Housing Construction – primary residence, proof of occupancy and ownership, disaster-caused home damage, authorized on a disaster by disaster basis when located in an insular area outside the continental United States and in other locations in which no alternative housing resources are available, and types of temporary housing assistance are unavailable, infeasible, or not cost-effective. Other Needs Assistance: 1) Medical: disaster-caused expenses, and/or paid receipts (bills) for medical treatment; 2) Dental: disaster-caused expenses, and/or paid receipts (bills) for treatment; 3) Child Care: disaster-caused expenses and paid receipts or estimates for services; 4) Funeral: disaster-caused expenses, and paid receipts or estimates for services; 5) Personal Property: disaster- caused personal property damage; 6) Transportation: disaster-caused vehicle damage; 7) Group Flood Insurance Policy: Three years of a flood insurance policy premium for applicantswho may not otherwise be able to purchase a policy and receive flood damage in a Special Flood Hazard Area; and 8) Other Miscellaneous Expenses: the expense or need must be caused by the disaster and approved by FEMA. Section 1211 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act authorized state, territorial, and tribal governments to apply for financial assistance to provide direct services for Temporary Housing Assistance to eligible individuals and households, in areas declared an emergency or major disaster by the President w here FEMA has determined eligible individuals and households are unable to make use of financial Temporary Housing Assistance and have a Housing Strategy approved by FEMA. State, territorial and tribal governments in areas declared an emergency or major disaster by the President in insular areas outside of the continental United States and in other locations where FEMA has determined no alternative housing resources are available, and temporary housing is unavailable, infeasible, or not cost effective, and have a Housing Strategy approved by FEMA, are eligible to apply for financial assistance to provide direct services for Permanent Housing Construction. Under Section 1211 of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act, FEMA could provide this assistance to a state, territorial, and tribal government as part of a pilot program which expired on October 5, 2020.
Committed by fiscal year
* FY2026 is year-to-date — the fiscal year is still in progress, so its total is still filling in. The striped band and dashed line mark that provisional stretch.
How the money flows
Committed dollars by how this program's money is paid out.
Direct payments
$16.9B
100%
Grants
$2.7M
<1%
Top recipients
By dollars committed.
How to read these numbers
- Committed through this program
Money committed under this assistance listing (its CFDA program), counted in the year each action happened.
- How it's paid
Most programs pay out one way — a grant, or a direct payment to individuals; the flow bar only appears when a program genuinely mixes types.
- Some recipients aren't itemized
For entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, the government reports one aggregate instead of naming tens of millions of people, so the recipient roster isn't part of the public record.
- Awards, counted once
An award count is the number of distinct awards with at least one action that year — each counted once, however many times it was amended.
- The colored bars
Every bar on this page splits by how the money moves:
Direct payments